Single Idea 22457

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / g. Consequentialism]

Full Idea

It is not clear why, in the measurement of the goodness of states of affairs or total outcomes, killings for instance should count so much more heavily than deaths.

Gist of Idea

If the aim is good outcomes, why are killings worse than deaths?

Source

report of Samuel Scheffler (The Rejection of Consequentialism [1982], pp.108-12) by Philippa Foot - Utilitarianism and the Virtues p.61

Book Reference

Foot,Philippa: 'Moral Dilemmas' [OUP 2002], p.61


A Reaction

Or drunken drivers worse than careless drivers. Or stolen bracelets than lost bracelets. The point is that morality is about the behaviour of people, and not about consequences.